


small gestures {a. azumane}

by keijikoutarou



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Azumane Asahi is a Good Significant Other, Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Sawamura Daichi Being an Asshole, Soft Azumane Asahi, Swearing, anxiety comfort, asahi does the hand thing, asahi gets nervous before games, for only a second i swaer, gender-neutral, i just love my BOY, lowercase intended in the summary, only a lil, vs nekoma game because i cannot go two seconds without thinking of kuroken, we know this, what else do i tag this as uh uh uh uh uh uh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:41:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28436304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keijikoutarou/pseuds/keijikoutarou
Summary: asahi is really nervous before a match against nekoma. you try to assuage his fears by having him use a trick from the shiratorizawa game.
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	small gestures {a. azumane}

“Hey, you’re okay.”

He looked at you, pausing his fidgeting for a moment. There was a look in his eyes like a child that had been caught in the cookie jar. “I’m sorry.”

You chuckled a bit. “Babe, you don’t have to be sorry. I’m just trying to help you.” 

The hand that had been thumbing the hem of his jersey minutes ago reached across the center console and took yours. He squeezed it gently, unlike the vice grip he’d had on the steering wheel. “I know, I know.”

You smiled at him, lifting his hand to your face and placing a kiss on the back of his palm. “You’re going to do amazing. You always do.”

The tension in his face dissolved a little as pink dusted his cheeks. There was a deep admiration in his eyes, held only for you. That set-in-stone love he had known since he’d fallen for you. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Ace.”

His smile stretched wider at the sound of his nickname. “Can I kiss you?”

You didn’t speak, but the release of his hand in favor of cupping his cheek gave him the answer he needed. Asahi mirrored your action; a giant, calloused hand stroked the soft skin of your cheek as he leaned in. His lips were so soft, a result of gentle coaxing to get him to start using a good chapstick.  _ Boys. _

A sudden bang on the window startled you both into breaking the kiss. 

“Fucking Christ, Sawamura!” you swore, rolling down the window. “You trying to make this poor man more nervous than he already is?”

“Game starts in 30 minutes, lovebirds,” Daichi teased, “we kinda need him.”

“He’s right,” Asahi agreed, nodding towards the clock on the dash. “We’ve been in here long enough.”

The captain laughed. “Got that right. Any longer and I might’ve found you guys-”

“Sawamura-san, I would advise against finishing that sentence.” You warned. 

Your boyfriend’s face was bright red at this point. Between the interrupted makeout session and Daichi’s jabs, he was clearly flustered. 

He left you both alone again with a smirk, reminding you of the time once more. You both agreed and stepped outside the car. 

His hand found yours on the way into the gymnasium. It was warm, despite the cold growing stronger outside. The gym was heated, which you were thankful for. 

“Hey, who are we playing again?” You inquired; even though you knew the answer already. Making conversation would get him out of his own head for a moment. 

“Nekoma. You remember Kenma and Kuroo, right?”

You chuckled, remembering the tall one with an eternal bedhead dragging around the quiet one like a kitten. “Yes, they’re...not exactly easy to forget.” 

He squeezed your hand again; his way of grounding himself. 

_ So, he’s more anxious than usual, _ you thought _. _

“Asahi.”

He stopped, sensing you felt his stress and anxiety. “Like an open book, huh?”

The rest of the team carried on into the gym, Sugawara, Daichi, and Ukai shooting you both knowing looks. You gave them one back, and Ukai nodded. You’d been in this situation before.

Circling to face him, you took his hand in both of yours, hoping to calm him using just about anything at this point. “You’re going to be incredible out there, I know it. I’ve seen you play so many times; it’s no wonder you’re the ace, darling.”

He beamed at your praise a bit. “Thank you. I’m just like this before games, you know?”

You nodded. “Why don’t you do that thing with your hands?”

“What thing?”

Releasing his hand, you tried to explain. “The...thing-” You swiped a finger across the alternate palm in no particular pattern. “I saw you do it before the Shiratorizawa game.”

“O-oh, that.” He stammered. 

“Yeah, did that help?”

“I mean...yeah it did-” he started. 

“Maybe it’ll help now?”

A sigh heaved its way through him. “G-give me your hand, please.”

You cocked your head to the side in curiosity but obliged him nonetheless. You lifted your hand to his, and he took it ever so gently. He turned your palm upwards and began to trace something on it with the index finger of his other hand. You could make it out, the kanji for “people.” He was so light in his movements, it almost tickled. The poor boy treated you like a doll, he was always so afraid of being too rough on accident. 

Asahi then lifted both your hands to his mouth, and gently kissed the place where he’d left his invisible strokes. This took you by surprise, and you could already feel the blood rushing to your face and your heart swelling three times its size. When he’d pulled away, you held his face in your palm. 

“I think I feel a little better.” He mumbled bashfully. “Thank you, honey.”

_ Oh no, _ you thought,  _ now there’s gonna be tears- _ “You’re welcome, darling. I love you.”

“I love you so much.”

You both became suddenly aware of the sounds of volleyballs smacking the gym floor and knew it was time to separate, just for a little while. 

“I’ll be in the stands with the girls. Go get ‘em, Ace.” You smiled, pinching his cheek. Moving away, you brushed your hand across his neck and down the side of his arm. 

He grabbed you and pulled you back in for one last good luck kiss. You strode to the stands with your face warm. 

Those small gestures led him to perform the best he’d had in weeks. 

It was no wonder he looked scary to people at first sight; Asahi was pure power on the court. He was the ace for a reason. Every spiked ball and perfect serve gave him more confidence that radiated throughout Karasuno. Every time he got past Nekoma’s blockers, he tried to find you in the stands. Those beautiful brown eyes landed on you on the third attempt to pick you out of the crowd. 

You stood next to Yachi and Saeko, Tanaka’s sister. The latter cheered for her brother loudly while the former rattled off about how the game worked alongside the awe in watching the boys play. You were grateful to be friends with them; Saeko had basically dragged you to their party when they found out you were dating the ace. 

Asahi slammed the ball to the floor again, securing Karasuno’s first set against Nekoma. 

His team engulfed him in a hug, with Tanaka ruffling his hair and Nishinoya jumping around excitedly. When they released him to go meet with the coach, he stayed back and looked straight at you. 

He smiled brightly and gave you a thumbs-up. 

A pang shot through your heart. You gave him one back, and he jogged off to the huddle. 

The game went to a third set, with both teams neck and neck. Nekoma reached 20 points first, and the tension in the gym rose significantly. Every player was pushing himself to just get one more, one more point. 

This was part of why you loved going to Asahi’s games. Not only were you there to support him, but the thrill of a volleyball game between two powerhouse schools was not something you’d want to miss. 

The game went past the limit, a deuce pushing toward thirty points. 

Asahi began to tire. His spikes had diminished in power from the fatigue, and not all of them got past the blockers. It was wearing on Noya in terms of receiving, too. 

You don’t know what possessed you, but you found yourself yelling, “Come on, Ace! One more point! You’ve got this!!”

Yachi and Saeko looked at you in surprise but smiled wide nonetheless. 

Asahi froze, and you wondered if you’d done more harm than good by calling out to him. 

Then, he nodded. 

At your cheers, a renewed vigor consumed him. After Hinata pulled off his freak quick with Kageyama, bringing it to Karasuno's match point, Asahi delivered the final spike to win them the match. Karasuno's side of the court erupted with cheers of "Asahi, nice kill!" 

Karasuno had won. 

After the game ended and the lineup dispersed, you ran out of the gym. He was waiting for you in the same spot you’d left him before the game. You ran to him, arms outstretched. 

He welcomed you wholeheartedly, engulfing you in a hug that turned into him picking you up and spinning around. You laughed.

“You did amazing, darling!”

He set you down, hands coming up to hold your face. “I couldn’t have done that without you. You know that, right?” 

You nodded, burying your face in his chest. 

Noya and Tanaka teased the both of you from afar until Daichi told them off. 

The team then started heading towards the bus. 

“Do you want to ride back with them? I know you guys will probably go eat or something,” you suggested. 

He shrugged a little. “Yeah, do you mind? We are going to eat, and Saeko and Yachi are going, too. I’m sure they would like you there.” 

“I don’t mind. You should be with them. You and Hinata won the game! I’ll just follow the bus.”

Asahi grinned. “Thank you,” he said before leaning down and giving you a small peck. He started walking away to strike up a conversation with Sugawara. 

“Hey, Ace!” You called out.

He turned back, worried you’d changed your mind.

“I’m so proud of you.”

You could swear there were tears in those chocolate eyes as he smiled once more before joining his team. 


End file.
